Source: Fox News
“A potential veto of Chicago’s 2026 budget by Mayor Brandon Johnson could trigger the Windy City’s first-ever municipal shutdown. Johnson reportedly rebuked the budget passed by council over the weekend, which lacks the mayor’s favored per-employee ‘head tax’ on corporations, as ‘morally bankrupt.’ If Johnson were to veto the budget, it would place the onus back on city council to rehash a plan that could get signed before Dec. 30 – or plunge the city into shutdown. … Items in the council’s budget include legalized video-gambling machines at eateries and Chicago-Midway Airport, raising the shopping-bag tax and a nationally unique proposal to tax social media companies – levying $0.50-per active Chicago user beyond 100,000 users that a platform has – with an expected windfall of $31 million, if approved. While a shutdown would be a novel development, late-year budget vetoes in Chicago are not.” (12/23/25)